1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of making an armrest, more particularly to a method of making an armrest that is mountable between adjacent left and right passenger seats. The invention also relates to the armrest made by the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to provide ergonomic comfort for passengers and to provide multi-functional spaces for mounting beverage holders, sockets for electronic devices, etc., an armrest for a seat of a transport vehicle usually has a complicated structure. Therefore, the conventional armrest is not formed integrally.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-121740 discloses an armrest which is made by: fitting a foamed synthetic resin sheet to a female-type vacuum molding die and subjecting the foamed synthetic resin sheet to vacuum molding to obtain two foamed skins having a U-shaped cross section; applying a bonding agent on inside surfaces of the skins to form bonding agent layers; inserting the skins into the inside of right and left hollow molding metal dies; introducing a parison into the dies; closing the dies; and expanding the parison by blowing air from a blow-in port to integrate the parison with the skins so as to obtain a hollow armrest.
Since the aforesaid method is only suitable for making an armrest having a relatively simple configuration, an armrest having a relatively complicated configuration is usually made by manufacturing the various molded parts of the armrest, followed by assembling the molded parts together using any suitable assembling means, for example, by screw fasteners. Therefore, the conventional method is complicated and costly, precise assembly of the molded parts is relatively difficult, and the armrest made thereby has a relatively weak mechanical strength.